


Of monsters and men

by iTwinDragons (rNgDragon)



Series: Death on the Edge of a Blade [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Depression, Experimental Surgery, M/M, Rejection, Revenge, Self-Harm, Temporary Character Death, nanomachines son!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 17:33:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8903959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rNgDragon/pseuds/iTwinDragons
Summary: Reyes always accepted Jesse McCree, starting from when they first met; even when he was at his lowest; even if they didn't agree on the same things, he excepted McCree to do the same. McCree, did not. Prequel to "Where's the Fun in Playing Fair"





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel but can be read separately. 
> 
> Enjoy <3

_**Reyes always accepted McCree, starting from when they first met...** _

Morrison ran over to him, sliding the last few meters. Bullet holes appeared where he was a split second ago.

"What the hell, Reyes?" He shouted over the gunfire. "I'm two men down. I thought you took care of them."

"So did I," Reyes shot back. "Apparently Deadlock is harder to kill."

He peeked his head out from the car they were sheltering behind then immediately ducked back down. Bullets riddled the surface of the car.

"I see him. Single shooter, twenty meters. I go left, you flank right. Shoot to kill." Reyes gestured over the car. "Go!"

Morrison nodded, his operation, his orders. They ran out of cover at the same time, Morrison shooting at the man's leg. The man stumbled, his cowboy hat falling off his head. Shit.

"Take the shot!" Morrison yelled.

"No! Ceasefire!" He yelled into his comm. "Its a fucking kid!"

Realization dawned on Morrison's face as he grabbed his comm to call off his soldiers. Suddenly the kid fell to the ground, still, when a gunshot was fired. Reyes whipped around to locate the shooter. Ana Amari, Morrison's second in command.

(Reyes ended up yelling and cursing at Ana, who was trying to hide a smile, when the kid, Jesse, sat up, confused and slightly delirious. It was a sleep dart. Morrison then teased him about being soft. Reyes gave him a "soft" left hook to the jaw.)

  
_**Even if he was at his lowest...** _

" I don't need your fuckin' help, Reyes!" McCree shouted, slapping his offering hand away, with tears in his eyes.

The Blackwatch trainees were practicing climbing on the climbing wall when Reyes got a call. When he came back, he witnessed McCree and some other redheaded trainee racing to the top, without safety harnesses. McCree had won, but the last rock came loose and McCree fell the full 20 feet.

He just stood there watching McCree cradling his right leg, which was bent at an awkward angle, and his arm, which just hung there loosely, probably dislocated.

"Fine," he said, handing his communicator to McCree. "Call me if you need my help."

He left knowing he wouldn't get a call.

A few hours in, he went to the infirmary and ran into Angela.

"Hey where's McCree?"

"Um, I don't know. Isn't babysitting him your job?" Angela frowned in concern. "Is he hurt?"

"Shit," Reyes left without another word.

"Nice talking to you too," she called mockingly after him.

It was pouring outside and he could still see McCree's silhouette in the distance.

He grabbed a coat and ran out to the rain. "That damned kid will be the death of me," he gritted out.

McCree looked up as he approached, and grinned. "I told ya I didn't need yer help." Then he passed out.

Reyes sighed and picked him up and hurried to the infirmary.

  
_**Even if they didn't always agree on the same things...** _

"McCree!"

"Yes, commander?" McCree drawled. He didn't remember doing anything bad recently.

"Where the hell have you been?"

McCree flinched from the full impact of his words. "What'd ya mean?"

"You left me waiting for you in the training room for three fucking hours!" Reyes growled. "What's your excuse this time?"

"I-I was with someone," McCree stated, nervously licking his lips.

"Who? Shimada? Again?" He eyed McCree's guilty stance. "You have to stop spending time with him."

"Why'd you care who I spend time with anyway? It's not like whatever we are is legal anyway," McCree sighed.

"Whatever we are?" Reyes' voice dropped dangerously. "How'd you think I feel when you spend your every waking moment with him but come crawling back to me at night when he can't give you what you want!" He knew he should be more careful with this particular topic.

"Why do you care who I flirt with anyway?" McCree bit out bitterly. "To me, Genji's just like another one of those omnics with a nice ass! He'll never be what you are to me!"

He saw McCree's face go pale after he said those words and he heard something, drop down from the ceiling, behind him.

"Genji! I didn't mean-" He was already gone in a streak of green. "Well I hope you're fuckin' happy." McCree choked back a sob. He turned around, walking away. "I think I lost my only friend."

Great, now he had an invisible, brooding ninja to find and a depressed cowboy on his hands.

He heard Genji before he saw him in the recreational room.

"You're wrong, you know, Reyes-san." the smooth robotic voice startled him from his thoughts. "I have everything to give him. I'm just afraid. Afraid of you."

"What?" He whipped around, trying to locate the voice. Genji was perched on the side of the couch. "What'd you mean?" He spoke, cautiously walking forward.

"You don't seem to like me except for the fact that I can kill." Genji hissed. "You treat me like a machine, just like the rest of them."

"McCree means a lot to me," Reyes frowned, wary of his hostile tone. "I don't want him to be so close to you when you leave."

"What?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Reyes raised an eyebrow. "You're going to hightail it outta here when your contract with the Shimadas are done. Up and leave. I know your kind to ditch everyone who cares about you and leave. I can't let you do that to McCree."

"McCree-san is the only one that treats me like a person." Genji was visibly shaking. "Although I don't even know if he still does anymore. And the fact of leaving? You think the UN overlooked that? They designed weapons just for me. 'Just in case' they say. I feel so damn special. They put a bomb in my body, commander, a bomb. Who does that?"

"I'm sure there's a reason-"

"Even so, where would I go anyway? Too human to be omnic. Too omnic to be human." Genji lowered his head. "Would you take that one comfort from me?"

Reyes stared at Genji in silence. "I didn't know that-"

"Of course not, no one cares."

Anger flared up in Reyes' eyes. "Listen here, you damn brat. You tell yourself no one cares. Have you looked around? Angela, Jack, hell, even Ana asks you if you're fine or anything. They care, Genji. You're the one pushing them away."

"They," Every ounce of anger dissipated from his voice. "Don't know what I'm going through."

"Kid look, I'm not a therapist but feel free to call me if you need to get something off your mind." He smiled. "I wanna wager my gun against your sword and I'll see what I can do about that bomb. That is a huge safety concern for my soldiers and Morrison would be pissed if he found out a stay bullet detonated one of his finest soldiers."

Genji got up and bowed deeply to him. "Thank you Reyes-san. If you ever need anyone to confide your problems with, I am here. I may not be able to help you but could make your problems seem like nothing. I swear this on my honour."

"Honour, huh?" Reyes cracked a grin when he left. "Damn brats. All of them."

  
_**He expected McCree to do the same...** _

Reyes was dead. Then he was not.

He took in a shuddering breath. Everything hurt. He looked around he was in a medical emergency room. Angela stood in front of him, her eyes wide.

What was she looking at? Then he saw.

"What did you do?!" He shouted, looking down in horror at his body. He didn't even recognize his own voice, ragged and sore.

His organs were showing, his tissue breaking down and reassembling. His blood, oh god his blood, was black.

"Reyes!" She grabbed his shoulders. "Don't move. I'll fix this! I'll-"

"Don't touch me, woman," he spat in her face. "You've done enough."

He got up and ran as far as he could, out of the base and into the city, a constant wisp of smoke following him. He ran until his leg literally broke off. He sobbed, wishing there was someone to hold him.

That night he cried himself to sleep, planing the good doctor's demise.

Years passed and he got used to his new form, finding it fascinating to break down to particles and reform again. So many more way to kill, strangling, suffocating. He could do it all.

He also had whatever he wanted, guns materialized out of thin air. He left a trail in his wake.

He sometimes tore at his own skin, only to watch it grow back in dismay. He tried many times to end his own life, only to wake up in even more pain.

He went by a different name now. Reaper. Suitable, for how he could literally consume people's souls now.

He had no purpose, a killing here, job there till Talon came across him, offering a purpose in life. A chance to get back at those who did him wrong. He went after each and every Overwatch and Blackwatch member, he did them quickly running down the list until-

Until the name came up.

Shimada.

Could he still confide his problems in him? His life was probably worst than the ninja's at this point. Either way, he would find him.

Tracking him down was a lot harder than he thought it would be. A false trail here, a trail gone cold there.

He finally tracked him in the mountains, a remote place in Nepal. He went around and found out that Genji had left the day before.

He left for Japan.

He dug around his file till he found his hometown, Hanamura, and followed him there, hitching a plane ride.

He arrived in Shimada castle late at night and he saw the cyborg sitting there in front of a shrine, completely still, expect for the slight rise and fall of his shoulders.

"I've been waiting for you, Reaper-san ." The cyborg gracefully rose to his feet. "Your reputation precedes you. It was only a matter of time till you found me."

Reaper grunted. "I didn't come here to fight you. I came to ask you a question."

"Let me guess? The location of my friends?" When Reaper didn't reply he continued. "McCree? The good doctor, Angela?"

"Angela is a witch!" He hissed, pulling out his guns. "She deserves to die."

"That's more like it," Genji smiled under his mask while drawing his short sword. "Less talking more-"

Reaper lunged at him, knocking his sword away and forcing him backwards, only to have him jump over his head, flipping in the air as a show of confidence.

It was a dance, with repeated actions. Reaper would get in close and fire, while Genji would jump away and throw shurikins.

"Enough of this," Reaper growled, dissipating into smoke. "Let's end this."

He reappeared behind Genji and put his arm around his neck and effectively strangling him.

After a awkward moment of silence, Genji spoke up. "You know I don't have to breath right? I only do it because it feels normal."

Reaper hesitated, his grip loosening a fraction. A mistake. Genji flipped him onto his back and drew his katana.

"Ryūjin no ken wo kūrae!"

Shit.

A dragon materialized behind Genji, its jaws snapping at him. He turned back into his smoky form, letting the sword pass through him harmlessly. Frustrated, Genji put his katana away and steam came out from his vents.

An idea came to him. His body was infused with nanomachines. They would probably interfere with his systems. He let his smoke tendrils wander, slipping between the vents on the cyborg's body.

"What are you doing?"

More vents on his body opened, in an attempt to get the smoke out, but ended up letting more smoke enter his body. The cyborg fell to the ground, writhing in agony. He looked up at the man looming over him.

"What do you want?" Genji rasped.

"You made me a promise, on your honour."

"Reyes-san?" He struggled to sit up. "But I thought you were dead."

"So did I." Reyes paused, not knowing how to continue. "Look, I need your help."

"I don't know if I could," Genji paused coughing. "What happened to you?"

"Angela tried to resurrect the dead. Look that doesn't matter. You knew McCree the best. Do you think he would still love me like this?"

"Of course. He accepted me like I am when no one else did."

Reaper frowned, weighing his options. "Do you know where he is?"

"I've lost contact with him after last year." Genji said lost in thought. "He's probably still in America."

"Thank you," Reaper sighed. He stood up. Now he had to get to America. "It was nice seeing you again. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, probably. Reyes-san?" A pause.

"Yes?"

"Don't die again."

"You brat," Reaper chuckled. "I'll try not for your sake."

  
**_McCree, did not..._ **

Route 66, the place it first started.

Hitching a train here was the easy part. The hard part was tracking him down. He traveled around, staying low in the day and moving in the night.

He saw wanted posters for McCree, ranging from the hundred thousands to the millions, and he asked around, pretending to be a mercenary for hire.

He got leads from men, presumably ex-Deadlock, who wanted him dead.

He found him in a café, reading the news and looking like every other person to any normal person. Reyes saw McCree's eyes flicking back and forth, always keeping watch.

He sat down across from him in the booth. He saw McCree's eye twitch when he noticed his guns.

"Another mercenary?" McCree drawled. "I thought you lot learned yer lesson when I sent y'all running for the hills."

"You don't act like you could do that."

McCree gave him an easygoing smile. "Looks are deceiving. A wise man taught me that." He lit another cigar. "What about you, Mister tall, dark and mysterious?"

"I think I taught you rather well, ninõ."

McCree's smile evaporated. "Gabriel Reyes is dead."

"Considering the fact I'm sitting right here, I think not."

"Prove it."

"Not here, in front all these people."

"Then at least tell me how," McCree leaned forward. "I was at your funeral. I saw your body."

Reaper frowned. "I don't know. I woke up and the only person I saw was Angela-"

"Don't you go pinning this on Angie," McCree snarled. "She isn't a monster."

"Didn't you see what she did to Genji?" He countered. "Or did he never tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Reaper stayed silent. "Tell me!"

"Its not for me to say." Reaper hesitated.

McCree lunged forward, grabbing his collar. "Tell me."

"They put a bomb in his body, 'just in case'." He paused, thinking about Genji's file he read. "She authorized it."

"No, she would never." McCree's eyes hardened. "If anyone's a monster, its you."

Reaper flinched backward. "What-"

"The real Gabriel Reyes would never kill his own soldiers." McCree let out a short bark of laughter. "In fact, I'd rather believe you're a corpse of the man I used to know." He leaned forward to emphasize his words. "There is nothing between us, anymore."

McCree put his hat on and got up and left, leaving Reaper starting after him in shock.

He felt something stirring inside of him, and surprisingly, it wasn't hate or sadness, rather, it was jealousy.

Jealous of Genji, for McCree loving him, unlike how McCree felt towards him.

Jealous of Angela, for McCree defending her against the crimes she did.

Jealous of McCree, for having so many people who cared about him, when he had none.

Anger stirred in the pit of his stomach, (if he still had one).

He was going to get revenge.

He would make him regret denying him what he wanted.

He will make him beg for forgiveness.

He would take everything McCree ever had.

Starting with Genji.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr.](https://rndomdragon.tumblr.com)


End file.
